Council criticised for not gritting icy roads

Flooding near Fox Corner, Worplesdon, where four cars crashed on Tuesday

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SURREY County Council has been criticised after a number of serious car crashes on icy roads this week.

No gritters were sent out to de-ice roads on Monday night, and on Tuesday morning Surrey Police received about 30 calls in the space of four hours from people reporting collisions.

Meanwhile, a number of motorists were fortunate not to be hurt in a four-car pile-up on the A322 Worplesdon Road near Fox Corner, which had been flooded for several days prior to the freezing weather.

The icy conditions led to at least three crashes where vehicles flipped onto their roofs, including one where children were left trapped inside.

Leonard West, of St Nicolas Court in Cranleigh, was involved in a minor collision after skidding on ice in Godalming Road, Hascombe, on Tuesday morning.

“The police were not able to get to us because there had been so many accidents,” the 54-year-old painter and decorator said.

“Not gritting the roads in these temperatures is putting people’s lives at risk. Mothers and fathers taking their children to school should be safe, and not sending gritters out is almost like playing God with their lives.”

He added: “The rest of us watch the weather forecast and we go to bed knowing that we will have to de-ice our cars in the morning. Why can the council not get itself together to send out gritters?”

A county council spokeswoman responded: “We followed all our normal procedures, which follow national guidelines, taking account of all the available information from the Met Office, and local knowledge.

“Given the information available at the time each decision was considered, we chose not to grit.

“As soon as we were aware of the problem on [Tuesday] morning we undertook spot gritting at locations reported to us.”

Fire crews were called out to Frog Grove Lane in Wood Street Village at about 8.50am on Tuesday after a green 4x4 vehicle overturned. The children trapped inside were treated for minor injuries.

A silver Honda ended up on its roof at about 6.45am in Station Lane, Milford. Another vehicle was recovered from a ditch nearby.

Surrey Police were also called out after a red Ford Maverick overturned in Rushett Common, Bramley, at 7.50am. The road was closed for about an hour, but no-one was seriously injured.